Girls und Panzer – 10

After two weeks of action, we move back to a more relaxed episode with a greater focus on the characters. Of course, this means it didn’t quite reach the spectacular heights of the previous two episodes but realistically there was no way they could’ve kept up with that never-ending climb. I’ll admit to being a little bit disappointed that the Oarai flag tank managed to survive intact whereas the Pravda flag tank did not, mostly because I would’ve liked to see what they’d do in the event of a tie. While a rare occurrence, I’d imagine they have some sort of rule in place for that kind of situation and it’s always interesting to learn more of the tournament’s rules.

I’ve probably said this before, but Girls und Panzer does an excellent job with characters. It’s taken time, but Hana’s mother has finally begun to accept her participation in the nationals. Mako’s grandmother also expresses a desire to watch the finals despite not even caring (or being aware) that Mako was working with tanks until part of the way into the nationals. It gives me hope that Shiho may eventually come to accept Miho too, though that seems a little on the unlikely side at the moment. Even the merciless and bloodthirsty Katyusha is willing to get down off her high horse (almost literally in this case) in order to show good sportsmanship towards the opponents that succeeded in besting them. Had she been a smaller person (I swear these puns are not intentional) she could’ve remained atop Nonna’s shoulders for the handshake, still trying to assert her dominance, or even refused to give any sort of acknowledgement at all. It makes her tears even sadder. She underestimated her foe – Pravda could probably have crushed them early on had they really wanted to rather than giving them a chance to regroup and emerge victorious.

Maho isn’t going to make the same mistake. Unlike the previous teams who dismissed Oarai’s skills (and luck), Maho understands why Miho is a good commander – because she’s willing to work outside the Nishizumi teachings, something that Shiho sees as an abomination and will most likely be what results in Oarai emerging victorious from the finals. That’s assuming they do emerge victorious of course – I’m still not entirely convinced. Let me rephrase that: I don’t think they have a hope in hell without an awful lot of convenient luck. While I like to imagine that underneath her cold exterior, Maho was dying to get down there and dance the anklerfish dance, she’s certainly not pulling any punches in this match. Miho successfully predicted the ten Panthers, the Tiger I, and the Jagdpanther. This alone would be more than enough to contend with. The addition of a Tiger II, Ferdinand, Jagdtiger, and numerous Jagdpanzer IVs – reaching the twenty tank limit of the finals – is just mean.

On Oarai’s side, as I previously guessed, the mechanics step in to crew the Tiger (P) which almost immediately catches fire. I hear this is not an entirely uncommon scenario and just goes to further emphasise the sorry state of the Oarai’s line-up. The Chi-Nu is handled by the mismatched trio of Nekota, Momoga and Piyotan, all with references to various works of Japanese literature in abundance. Sadly, they didn’t exactly prove effective in combat – taking a shell meant for the flag tank by accident within the first few minutes of the match. But really, what more can you expect from a group who met playing tank games online and have vastly less experience than any of the other crews? Even with the Hetzer upgrade for the 38(t) and the additions to the Panzer IV, things don’t look good for Oarai.

But is this a bad thing? I’ve mentioned this before in the comments and discussed it with several other people – I don’t necessarily want Oarai to win. They’ve made it this far through the nationals with a large amount of luck and given what they’re facing now, it could be hard to come up with a victory that would be satisfying without feeling a little contrived. Oarai don’t necessarily have to win in order to save the school – reaching the finals on their first appearance is a magnificent feat in itself, one which could well result in sponsorships and funding to stop the school closing down. It would also leave room for the second season (fervently hoping for one) to show us the teams we never actually got to see in this season as Oarai make their way through the nationals towards a victory.

It felt like there was a lot of foreshadowing that might support this outcome. Admittedly, most of this is likely me reading too deeply into situations and the bigger of the two came across as being much darker than merely losing the finals, but the cut to Miho’s injured bears as she professed her love for her comrades felt ominous – like the triggering of a death flag. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was a little off during that scene, especially given how melancholic most of the montage seemed to be. Of course, that melancholy was likely for an entirely different reason – it’s the night before the big match after all – but it still seemed a little concerning. Hana’s flower arrangement had a slightly terrifying edge to it too. But in truth, I still don’t really think the series will go down a dark path. Especially not now that we’ve seen solid confirmation of the survival of the crew that almost drowned.

Sadly, despite the cliff-hanger, it’s going to be almost three months until we actually get to see the outcome now that episodes 11 and 12 have been pushed back to March. Next week will be episode 10.5, likely another recap in a similar fashion to episode 5.5, which makes this the last proper episode for quite a while. It’s going to be an agonising wait.

tl;dr:@MoombaDS – As we advance into the finals, things do not look good for Oarai. #GaruPan

Random thoughts:

I love how each group has their own motivations despite being united in their love of tanks. At heart, the volleyball team is still the volleyball team, the historic studies team is still the historic studies team, and so on.

After Katyusha I should’ve guessed what they’d be using as a theme for the Germans: Erika.

Pfft, people still say there’s no yuri. Yukari clearly has a thing for Miho!

All the previous teams come to wish Miho luck… wait what about the Italians?!

Yuri confirmed. I can’t believe we’re going to be waiting for so long now. After how calm the episode was I had assumed they’d at least stop before the fight started but they actually started it and finished the episode on a cliffhanger.

“The Chi-Nu is handled by the mismatched trio of Nekota, Momoga and Piyotan, all with references to various works of Japanese literature in abundance.”
- Can I ask to elaborate? Just curious really. I’m not familiar with all of Japan’s literary works but Nekota reminded me of Leiji Matsumoto’s art style and I’m guessing Momoga is to the Legend of Momotaros. Third girl Piyotan I got no idea.

- I really wonder if all the Katsu meant anything that night before the finals. Could be coincidence that they were all eating the same thing or somehow it’s a vague representation of being united in thought.

- I can’t think of any other online tanks games so the anime most likely gave a little nod to World of Tanks with the Tapir Team. Nice one.

The eye patch girl’s eyepatch bears a striking similarity to the main character in the anime series Jubei-chan. An old school anime series about a schoolgirl that becomes a bad ass master swordsman from 300 years ago when she puts the “lovely eyepatch” on.

I looked up that Juubei-chan anime a little and yeah there’s some similarity. I’m guessing now that’s what Moomba meant by the Anteater team referencing various Japanese works, in other words classic anime.

There’s only one other potential reference that I’m aware of other than those already pointed out here: in certain shots, Momoga bears an uncanny resemblance to the lead of Yukitate!! Japan. That could, of course be entirely coincidental, but given that Nekota’s appearance is a possible Matsumoto Leiji reference, it’s worth thinking about. I can’t place Piyotan either, but knowing the staff involved and the numerous other references across the board, it’s bound to be something.

Other than that, there are also the simpler references to anime tropes, such as the otaku glasses and bearing which causes people to draw parallels between Nekota and Frau from Robotics;Notes and the fact that from her visual archetype, I half expect Piyotan to say ‘Ara ara’ at some point.

Nice one Moomba. Azuma Kazuma didn’t cross my mind until you mentioned Yakitate!! Japan. And yeah now that you mention it, Piyotan does have that “caring onee-chan” vibe on her, something like im@s’s Azusa or even Belldandy. I guess for now we can leave it at that.

I know there are some production issues in this anime, but I didn’t expect to be this awful…so yeah, I guess director’s decision to pull back last two episodes seems right. Though I’d still hope they will air them earlier, the wait is just…too…much >.<

I believe this kind of attitude from an anime director should be applauded. How often have we suffered through poorly executed episodes and low-quality animation caused by looming deadlines ? Making a good anime episode is hard work, and sometimes the production teams take on more than they can handle. It is of course a severe professional mistake, albeit hardly an uncommon one. But now we see a director, not only willing to admit that kind of mistake, but also telling the viewers that in exchange for some patience on their parts, they WILL get the finished product with the expected level of quality, instead of a bland patch-up work. Yes the last episode did suffer from a little dip in quality (it stills look more than decent to me though), but for me the team took the best (and hardest) decision by saying STOP, we can’t rush to the end like this, we will need time to give it the shine and polish it deserves.

Obviously the wait will be agonizing, but at least we KNOW, without a sliver of a doubt, that it will be worth it. That is something I can live with. And besides, we did get some nice songs and even a lullaby to pass time, didn’t we ?

Yeah, whether it comes to anime, manga, games, movies, etc, I’d much rather put up with a wait to allow the people behind them time to work out any problems before releasing it so the people get as much a satisfying product and as few problems as possible.

Sadly, many people feel that rushing things out to meet such deadlines is far more important, even if it comes at the cost of consumer satisfaction. It tends to happen quite often with video games. *Looks at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and its over TWENTY patches in LESS THAN A YEAR that did little to actually fix the game*

Hell Yes, Erika ! I would have loved a nice chorus too, but to be honest Pravda’s rendition of Katyusha was so nicely done it deserves to stay uncontested at the top of the charts. Any bets as to the other German song we will likely get ? Die Wacht am Rhein would be obvious, it’s the Schwarzwald School after all.

In most series, having Ooarai pull that kind of victory (after that monstrous hit the Type 89 is still crawling around ???) would have felt cheap. And in a sense, it did. But the rest of the episode – and really, the serie as a whole – was so much sheer FUN that I honestly forgot about it by the 5 minutes mark or so.

Interesting how Maho and Boss Nishizumi are both right in their analyses: Miho did get incredibly lucky against opponents that underestimated Ooarai, but at the same time she did a good job of beating these odds. Nobody simply handed them the victory on a silver plate, they fought tooth and nail to achieve it.

The Tiger (P) totally breaking down was hilarious (makes sense to give it to the automobile club, they will have a field day repairing it on the fly), as was the new team for the Chi-Nu. WoT nerds reporting in ! But wait, a real-life 20-tons tank gearbox is no keyboard, it is HARD TO MOVE ! Welcome to Panzerfharen !

I agree with Moomba that Hana’s flower arrangement was quite nice, and at the same time ominous; after all, it is looking like a tank exploding in flames. And speaking of Hana, did you see that MOUNTAIN of rice she had on a globally overflowing plate ? A flower-arranging, panzer-gun-loving and a glutton, who would have thought…

Obviously the production team loves Kelly’s Heroes, which to me speaks volume about their excellent taste in war movies. I suspect the first-years were crying for the poor tanks in the movie rather than for the “Heroes” though. Also, is that a M3 plushy I saw briefly on a shelf ?

And at last, the big fight that everybody was waiting for. Putting the flag on the PzIV is the obvious choice, as without her at the helm the team would be done for in any event. Maho is still in her Tiger 212, and I wonder who (if anyone) got Miho’s former Tiger 217. On that note, Otto Carius survived the war, Michael Wittmann did not; foreshadowing anyone ?

My bet as to the outcome: after a heroic last stand, Miho’s PzIV is gunned down by Maho’s Tiger with both the last survivors of their respective teams. Panzer Vor !

People are expecting a reference of Chapter 6 of Little Army actually. If you’re not familiar with it, grade-school Miho and Maho take part in a friendly match, with Miho in a Panzer IV and Maho in a Stug. Miho lost that one because a tree just happened to be in the way of their simultaneous shot, and I’ll be surprised if the final episode DOESN’T give a nod to that.

I didn’t notice the vast difference in food quantity until you mentioned it. How could I miss that?

That would be in interestng quirk on her ideal-Japanese-girl character type, it’s certainly a contrast. I wonder if they’ll touch on it in the manga or LN. I can’t imagine they put that in the scene for nothing.

i’m not surprised that the writers thought nothing of using Erika , but i think they should of used the Panzerlied instead since endures to this day in the Bundeswehr and other countries while Erika, despite its innocuous lyrics, is closely associated with German nationalism and the rise of the NSDAP. and the Panzerlied is THE tank song…

It’s gonna be a long 3 months to get to episodes 11 and 12. Hoping they’ll at least do what Shaft did with Madoka Magica and show the 2 episodes back-to-back when it airs in March.

On what might be install for us in the last 2 episodes, I’m hedging my bets on a very narrow lost for Ooarai. Kuromorimine has too many advantages in the form of their superior numbers, machines, skills of the crew, and a very competent commander in Maho. Even with all that, Ooarai will probably give Kuromorimine a right run for their money, but still lose because Miho will face a similar situation like last years finals and she chooses to do the right thing again even if it means losing the match. Or maybe it’s Maho’s turn to do the right thing, probably involving that stuck-up second in command, which then leads to Kuromorimine’s consecutive runner-up placing at the Nationals.

I’ve been guessing something like that will happen. Miho’s team will save Maho at the cost of the match knowing that it might mean the end of their school. That will trigger a reaction that will force the Board of Education to keep the school open.

The wait is going to be a killer, but I really want them to do this right.

What could happen is that terrific battle ensues, Miho’s Tank falls off a cliff into the ocean, cue her fear of waters, Maho jumps into the ocean to save Miho but dies tragically going with all the foreshadowing (or gets disabled), Oorai wins the only way it would not seem contrived. leads into 2nd season with Miho panzering in the memory of her elder sister but now more Maho like, more strict, focused on just winning. cues her friends there to save her from herself.

Maho goes overkill! But the fact that she’s reliying too much with tankbusters may be her fall. While in paper powerful, the Ferdinand can be easily flanked, same with the JgPz IV and JgPanther (hoping for a flanking drift with twin-shot from the B3 and the M3 over the Ferdi) The real issue for Oarai are the König Tiger, Maho’s Tiger and the 10 FRIGGIN PANTHERS!! Although we’ll have to wait 3 months, we may be up to the most epic tank battle of all times.

So Oorai is going against 20 AFV’s versus their own 8. GERMAN AFV’s as in the some the hardiest, toughest , reliable vehcles of WWII but without the logistical advantages that other countries had over Germany. That’s just plain cruel. But that’s the beauty of GuP, you have to keep wondering how Oorai can make it with their motley crew and mostly crappy tanks.

At least Oorai has a lot more firepower now. The Tiger(P) is a great addition despite it being prone to breakdown. I think its actually brilliant that the mechanics are crewing it, who else should handle an unreliable tank than the most qualified repairmen? It was hilarious how they just reacted casually to the tank catching fire: “Oh the tank is burning again fetch the the extinguisher”. Can’t say much about the Chi-Nu crew, the tank is decent but it got taken out immediately. I wonder if its a reference to the fact that the Chi-nu never saw battle. The 38(t) gets upgraded to a Hetzer which means its more useful now, but unfortunately the Volleyball Team STILL has the Type-89! They don’t deserve that POS especially at this stage.

As for characters, Miho just ….”confessed” to her crew and I loved Yukari’s reaction. Not to mention how Darjeeling points out how her tendency to befriend every girl he beats. Miho confirmed for harem? Sorry, the yuri goggles are talking again.

Pfft, people still say there’s no yuri. Yukari clearly has a thing for Miho!
Well, you could say the same for Darjeeling. Saying that she’s interested with Miho’s tactics…I’m pretty sure Darjeeling is interested in Miho in a different way. XD

Well, even though I know the next episode will be a recap, I hope it will include introductions to the new additions to the Ooarai Tankery team. But goodness, the two-month wait for the last two episodes… *groans*

The calm before the storm sequence was very poignant. And cute, the various katsu made me smile (and gave me the munchies).

With numerical superiority and unit cohesion in Kuromorimine’s favour as well as being one tank down already its going to be tough for Ooarai. It will probably come down to Ooarai killing the flag tank again. Question is how.

@SeedStriker Watching how they used the Type 89 against Pravda in Ep9, upgrading it to a tank destroyer seems to be a good idea. Especially if Momo isn’t behind the trigger.

Miho, despite the overwhelming difference in firepower of the two teams, does have a distinct advantage.

She knows the Nishizumi style inside and out. Maho is bound to follow that style regardless of the circumstances, because to break from that style would be to go against her mother and her name. In essence, Miho has her opponents plans, strategy, motivation and contingency plans spread out before her. Miho’s challenge is to find a way to exploit that knowledge with the meager and rag tag force she has.

As for them winning. I think at this point the school could very well be saved even in a loss, but I want them to win. Not to save the school, but so Miho can take the spirit of Sensha-dō, and shove it down Nishizumi Shiho’s throat. The head of Black Forest needs to have her arrogance taken down a few notches.

That is a very good point. Know your enemy. And I have similar sentiments concerning Shiho.
However, Kuromorimine already surprised Ooarai on the first exchange. Despite her familiarity with the style Miporin didn’t seem to expect the attack. Since the battle will take 2 eps I can imagine Miporin trying to drag out the fight, stretch out her opponents formation and staging ambushes.

Damn but you are right, Miho does indeed have that advantage she never had before. I should have thought about it, and it raises interesting possibilities…

After mulling on this a few minutes, I can envision Maho winning by discarding the Nishizumi style and playing Miho-style Panzerfahren – it would even makes sense, Maho isn’t a moron like me and will obviously think about Miho’s knowledge of her own family fighting style. Even better, Maho publicly aknowledging afterward (during the MVP ceremony or something) that she took a page from her little sister’s playbook. That should irritates Boss Nishizumi to end – and let’s be frank here, we are all for that aren’t we ?

I think that would be my favorite ending. In my mind it would go something like this, Miho manages, through her knowledge of the Nishizumi style, to break out and stage several ambushes/engagements where they do increasing damage to Black Forest. Of course they’d slowly and poignantly lose their tanks along the way as well. But despite this they’re clearly winning/at least not obviously losing despite their disadvantages and this is obvious enough that we can see it stick in Shiho’s throat. Finally it will be Miho and crew + one or two others and Maho + three or four others. Miho knows what she thinks Maho will do and plans for it. Maho however pulls a move that is blatant heresy to the Nishizumi style and manages to win, closely of course. Miho and Maho are cool about it, they seem like they truly love each other after all, but Shiho is either having an apoplectic fit because of what Maho did or she is in some kind of mood/terribly confused because it wasn’t the Nishizumi style that got the win.

After mulling on this a few minutes, I can envision Maho winning by discarding the Nishizumi style and playing Miho-style Panzerfahren – it would even makes sense, Maho isn’t a moron like me and will obviously think about Miho’s knowledge of her own family fighting style.

Actually, what I expect is that Maho would be able to win *if* she deviated from the Nishizumi style, but that she deliberately won’t deviate from it, simply so that she can show her mother that it’s not perfect. If she deviates from the family style and wins then nothing will have been gained; her mother will simply say that she could have won using the Nishizumi style as well, and that her breaking from the style is a personal flaw. Only if Maho doesn’t deviate at all can the loss be considered a legitimate black mark against the family style.

Maho may actually feel that she’s helping Miho by staying so strictly true to the style, allowing Miho to know exactly what’s planned, and hoping that Miho’s creativity will be able to subvert it.

Only if Maho doesn’t deviate at all can the loss be considered a legitimate black mark against the family style.

Indeed that is also a good scenario, but past history suggests that losses are kinda frowned upon in the family, whatever the events that lead to them. I guess much will depend on where exactly does Boss Nishizumi sits on the scale that goes from sane rational person to fanatical zealot.

Not sure I agree here. Yes Miho is quite familiar with the Nishizumi style, but Maho is also quite familiar with Miho, and unlike the other teams, Maho doesn’t underestimate Oarai which was Oarai’s greatest advantage. IMO, that more than offsets any advantages familiarity with the Nishizumi Style offers. As celebrinen correctly points out, despite her knowledge of the Nishizumi Style, Miho certainly didn’t expect the trap Maho set and fell right into it. If not for “deus ex Anteater Team” fortuitously selecting reverse by mistake, the battle most likely would very likely be over already.

I agree with David’s comment in part that Maho will not deviate from the Nishizumi Style, but not because Maho wants to show her mother it’s not perfect. Rather Maho believes that the Nishizumi Style has merit. And why wouldn’t she? It’s the most popular style (for a reason), and Black Forest has had great success using it. Clearly it’s easy to take issue with the Nishizumi Style hard core philosophy on a moral basis, but it’s not like it’s a bad Senshado strategy. Paraphrasing: Always move forward; Keep fighting/never give up; and Iron will/steel heart. That’s pretty much Patton’s style, and he did quite well in WWII.

Obviously the show is geared towards an Oarai victory, but ignoring the TV show plot aspects and focusing on the battle alone, I’m quite surprised to see comments suggesting that Miho needs to change styles to win. It’s TWENTY TO EIGHT (now SEVEN)! The TEN Panther tanks alone are better than ANY Oarai tank (incl. Tiger(P) IMO). The Black Panther team has much more experience than Oarai (other than Miho). Using an historical analogy, it’s how the IJN originally envisioned the Battle of Midway. Fully operational Shokaku and Zuikaku are there along with the other four IJN carriers while the Yorktown is at the bottom of the Coral Sea. This is by far the worst odds of victory Oarai has faced yet. All Maho need to do in order to win is just not royally screw up.

@ Kit-A-Ron-Ron-Kat: “That should irritates Boss Nishizumi to end – and let’s be frank here, we are all for that aren’t we?” Yes, we are. :D. That being said, Shiho commented at the start that Oarai won because Pravda screwed up (warning based on Commie TL). Frankly, I can’t see how Oarai can legitimately win without Black Forest doing the same or some ultra-lucky event. An Oarai victory due in part to either one will not be sufficient for Shiho to have a change of heart.

With 2-3 monthes and the combined strengths of the anime fans community plus the WoT community, someone might be able to find a way to victory for Ooarai that doesn’t simply rely on Bruce-Almighty-level luck.

Mount Fuji eruption anyone ?

Seriously though, I literally can’t see a way out for Ooarai. It’s daytime, weather conditions are excellent, and I can hardly imagine that the Schwarzwald Panzers would feel out of place in wooden areas.

@Greenmantle: Sorry, but I don’t see anything or any reason that leads to the conclusion that Maho’s scared and/or on the defensive. First Maho may not even have more than 20 tanks/TDs. That’s a lot already. Second, the mix of Black Forest’s (“BF”) tanks simply exploit Oarai’s overall biggest weaknesses – thin armor & underpowered tank guns (the reason finding the Tiger(P) was such a big deal). Penetration range is a very important part of tank vs. tank combat, and BF’s mix of tanks literally maximizes Oarai’s range disadvantage. The Jagdtiger alone could easily take out the Panther IV flag tank from well over a mile away. Far too much detail to go into specifics here. Using an analogy, you’re suggesting that someone is scared or lacks confidence because they brought a machine gun rather than the typical revolver to the proverbial knife fight. If anything, Maho should be congratulated for somehow not being supremely overconfident.

@Kit-A-Ron-Ron-Kat:

LOL – how about Mt. Fuji erupts due to an awakening Godzilla? Godzilla always wins against tanks.

Yeah, it’s not good. This is exactly why I didn’t want this to happen. Now the focus on what “deus ex (blank)” event will save them this time. I’d love to ask the director why he feels the “win against almost impossible odds” situation is so necessary time after time. Frankly, with those tanks, Black Forest should win every year. Hope you are correct about the extra time being used in part to develop a credible escape – or we get the Oarai loses twist (but that has it’s own issues). As you, I was also impressed by the directors sincerity in his apology.

The only way I can think of Oarai “credibly (and legally) winning” the following:

(A) Use guerrilla tactics to whittle down BF tanks with particular emphasis on terrain that favors smaller/lighter tanks. Use heavily wooded areas (similar to Hurtgen Forest) to break up formations & possibly create confusion. Soft ground and small bridges might provide another means to separate “lighter” Panthers & similar from heavy tanks. Keep repeating. At some point, flag gets isolated enough to get a clean sniper kill shot to rear or tracks. Maybe you get lucky and some BF tanks suffer mechanical break down or run out fuel chasing you around. Not very credible IMO. Could work once, maaaybe twice, but not several times. Maho’s not stupid and BF gunners don’t shoot like Pravda’s. You’ll run out of tanks before Maho does.

(B) Do same/ similar as was done against Pravda flag. Bury/camouflage StuG III and/or Hetzer, and then bait flag tank to them. Shame it was already used as this is the most “credible” way I can think of at the moment. Staking would be too risky/difficult with so many BF tanks. Maybe whittle down with part A then try to stalk.

(C) Since Oarai’s instructor is the referee, I wonder if there is going to be some sort of “official ruling” impacting the match. Maybe BF Vice-Captain goes ballistic and violates the rules. Not credible IMO.

Really, IDK. All I can say is that I’m glad they didn’t push EP 11 & 12 through to make the original deadline.

I loved how they actually animated a scene from the climatic battle in Kelly’s Hereos where Sgt. Odball’s tank accidently shoots the Tigers behind with a paint shell instead of an AT shell. I don’t understand why the freshmen team was crying during that part of the movie as they watched. Its as much a comedy as a war film. Perhaps they were mourning the loss of such a great Tiger tank, those oversensitve Japanese school girls and their love for Tanks.

Oh I was so mad when I saw that episode 10.5 was next since 5.5 was suppose to have only happened to due production delays. Now that I’ve come here and see that I have to wait until March to see the rest, I’m even more frustrated. So, are they just giving us the last 2 episodes then? Or do we get a full seasons worth in spring? I’d love an extra 10 episodes.

Yeah, to see those first years cry watching that film, I think that they are sad that the Tiger could not do anything to shoot the sherman… bcuz their turret cannon was block by that wall… As if they pity the Tiger~

Note that earlier in the movie a character dies due to a mine and then two guys are killed by the German patrol that investigates the minefield (though Kelly and the rest completely destroy the patrol). That scene was a bit of a downer and I’ll pretend the girls were shedding tears due to that.

Very poignant episode. Even with the rushed addition of the other two teams, you can see what makes me love the series beyond the tanks. The camraderie.

Back in 2001, a rather critically acclaimed series started to air on HBO. A war documentary of sorts, it proved to be more powerful and popular than others that came before it due to the fact it focused less on the battles these men fought, but the men who fought in them.

That personal touch was what propelled E Co. 2 Batt 506th PIR into the limelight. While I won’t say GuP achieved that, but the middle of the episode was that Band of Brothers moment. I loved how they’ve bonded over the episodes, and most telling was Rabbit team. From tank abandoning freshmen, to stalwart ‘combat’ veterans.

I agree, but they also made the battle scenes incredibly good. The taking of the artillery battery at Brecourt Manor was about as exciting a battle scene as I’ve watched. It had all the good, the bad and the ugly of warfare.

I agree regarding the battles. What makes the show special is that it’s not one-dimensional. There’s great action AND character development. Most action (read Shōnen) type shows feature characters with about as much depth as their 2D image. It’s the show’s balance of the two along with attention to detail that set it apart.

That being said, this battle has been disappointing so far for me. Same forumla: overwhelming to almost impossible odds (check), bad start for Oarai making odds even worse (check)… Long wait to find out how (or perhaps if) Black Forest helps Oarai to victory.

As for great battle scenes, I think it’s hard to top the intro to Saving Private Ryan. FYI – I do not recommend the Band of Brothers book. Not as good as Citizen Soldier let alone D-Day.

@Jusuchin: Thanks. I’ll add that to my “to buy list” next time I visit the bookstore/Amazon. I have some issues with Ambrose’s style, but D-Day was a masterpiece IMO and his best book by far that I’ve read. Citizen solder needed to by twice as long given the topic. If giving grades: D-Day = A-A+, CS = B/B+, and BBros = C.

While I liked the opening of Saving Private Ryan, the rest of the movie didn’t excite me that much. The premise of trying to extract one soldier for propaganda reasons left me cold.

The books that i’ve really liked lately are “An Army at Dawn” and “The Day of Battle” which covers the African and Italian campaigns by Rick Atkinson. I’ve been waiting for the third installment, “The Guns at Last Light” to come out which is due in May of next year.

@Bear: With you 100%. Have both of Atkinson’s books and they are excellent. Splitting into volumes was a smart choice since there is ample space to cover all aspects. Great to know the last book is finally due in May. Been waiting for that. FWIW, I’m not really an Ambrose fan, but I love oral history accounts. I certainly don’t read Ambrose for his military analysis/insight.

OT, but too late at this point XD. If you want a good single volume overview, Weinberg’s World at Arms is a solid choice. A bit dry, but thorough. I liked Hart’s History of the Second World War as well. It’s not quite as dry, but it is light on Pacific War coverage.

Showing how each tank team spent their evening meal together the night before the battle. The comradarie of all the girls as well as the automobile club was nice.

That morning the leaders of each school they defeated showed up to wish them well. Shows how much class the tank commanders of those schools have to come and wish good luck to the school that defeated them.

To wait an agonizing 3 months… just darn too painful man~ So is there hardly any episodes to watch…?

Anyway, I cant yet see a logical way of winning except for some prediction:

1st)
to have a repeated dejavu, Them Black Peak Forest comes and chase them, then Miho’s sister Maho come falling down somewhere and yet Miho comes to the rescue, but still loses…hmmm~

2nd)
Miho comes into danger or either Maho comes to help OR the team that Miho helped before this comes and help them.

3rd)
To have Miho tied up in a tight spot and no chance of winning, but suddenly due to some reasons, the team that Miho helped before does treasons and shoot their own teammates and causes the loss of their own flag tank…

4th)
Or lastly, it came to a draw,
How about I put a mix into my theory, both Miho and Maho is in terrible danger, and so, all their teammates helped them to safety and then they both realised something special or some sort that makes them even more friendly… hmmm

A more likely outcome is Miho’s team loses but fights hard and someone rich comes to their aid and agrees to support the school so it does not have to close. Twenty tanks to Seven is pretty tough odds. Even for underdogs.

Interesting episode. Frankly, I was surprised that the final battle started in this episode rather than being a full “character development” episode like EP 07.

- Hetzer conversion featuring a MUCH better 75mm PaK39/L48 canon was a nice surprise. With top-gun Anzu and ex Formula 1 driver Yuzu, even a Panther or Tiger should worry. Not sure if “Shutzen” is worth the extra weight since I highly doubt HEAT rounds are used. Hope the kit included a KwK 40/L48. They’re gonna need it. FYI (had to look this up): “Mark IV Special” was the name the British gave the Panzer IV Ausf F/2 out of respect for its abilities.

- Despite short length, the other team’s “time alone” scenes were well done IMO . They ranged from introspective and to surprising sad given that they did win. A great choice of “tone” by the director. It brings the show to an appropriately serious tone for the important final match. No excessive optimism like EP 08. The girls are (for the most part) no longer “rookies”, and realize it will take more than just good luck to win this time. The image of the VB team practicing alone in empty, semi-dark gym was particularly poignant for me – giving a sense of grim finality for what’s to come.

- LMAO at the Tiger(P) breaking down. The facial expressions were hilarious along with each problem occurring right after being said. The maintenance team is the perfect fit for that tank.

- Nice shout-out to WoT players. LOL at “It’d work in the game.” Applies to RL as well.

- I’m not into loli, but I have to admit the Freshman team is “kawaii” after seeing this http://www.imagebam.com/image/6713e6226572845 . Wanted give the girls an encouraging pat on the head. For that matter, it’s very hard to dislike a crying Katyusha (top right screen shot in review). She’s lucky Nonna <3 is always there for her.

- I really like how the show uses Darjeeling as a quasi-narrator. Very much a class act when encouraging Miho along with Kei and Katyusha. A little disappointed Kei didn’t give Miho another big hug with Yuikari jealously watching on. “Mihosha” was cute. Katyusha did wonders for her image this episode.

there is a side view shot of their tanks lined up later in the episode and you can tell the barrel on the PzIV is now longer than the barrel on the StuGIII, combined with the new brake implies its now a L/48

There were some issues with this episode in contrast with prior ones. Moomb’s not the only one disappointed with the Type 89 surviving. More like a Type 89 SUPER KAI (2x the speed and 3x the armor). I’m sure no one is shocked by my severe disappointment to see TWENTY Black Forest tanks. LOL – they just had to throw in Jadgtiger on top of everything else. Oarai doesn’t need a a Type 3 and Tiger(P), they need a special one-time exception to allow a Type 10 and an M1A2 Abrams.

One thing I haven’t seen is a comment about the pacing. For the first time I found the pacing rushed at times. Apart from Team A, the “team bonding” scenes, though good, were too short – especially for the last two teams who we know very little about. Two character issues with significant screen time introduction were resolved a little too fast IMO. “Oh, Mako, you’re grandmother’s fine now? Great!” (check that off the list). A minute of dialog with grandma would have gone a long way.

Hana’s scene was longer, but her mom’s change of heart was a little too fast for me given her strong feelings before. I’d rather see her take more of a “well, maybe there’s some value in senshado after all” stance before completely reconciling with Hana. If you compare EP 07 with EP 10, you’ll see what I mean.

The director’s comment regarding the delay is worth reading IMO(thanks Bear for the link). I was impressed with its sincerity and commitment to the show. Others have posted that delay was a smart move and I agree. GuP staff, please use the time wisely.

After reading the apology letter, your comments with episode 10 being rushed hopefully will be addressed by the planned release of BD/DVDs that I would think as director’s cut. He even mentioned that it’s also planned perhaps on some if not all of previous episodes.

I remember there was some that speculated the Type 89 would only have its track blown off and not totally incapacitated thus resulting in Ooarai’s win. Personally, I also entertained the possibility but then dismissed it as there was quite a bit of debris shown in that sequence. Although I can understand why there would be those disappointed in how the Type 89 survived, I was strangely immensely proud of the Type 89 when it was shown barely at a crawl but still able to move. I guess with all the flak the Type 89 gets in regards to its ability as a tank, the only way for it to shine was to survive the odds lol. Note that I’m not defending the way it was handled but just that it didn’t bother me and made me chuckle a little instead.

I second your suggestion to give Ooarai a Type 10 and a M1A2 Abrams. I say throw in a Leopard 2 for good measure. Funny enough, when Darjeeling, Kei, and Katyusha came to offer feelings of support to Miho, I was so hoping there would be some loophole where they could each “loan” even one of their tanks (and crew) to Miho.

For me the overall pacing has been pretty well handled. Not to say that there haven’t been instances of rush parts. Definitely felt a bit of that with this episode sure. However, given the significant size of the cast along with only 12 episodes to work with, each episode does its best to pack in as much as possible without wasting time. The biggest criticism I have for GuP is the lack of time it has to fully explore the setting and characters it established. And I make this statement while also praising it for having so much content each episode and not focusing on irrelevant things like other 12 cour shows.

The two new teams (three if you count Sodoko’s team) really hammer it home. I found it more prevalent with the tank otaku team since it was the very first time we’ve met them. At least the automobile club was established earlier in the narrative and we saw interaction with Sodoko at various points. Nekota just simply came out of the woodwork. Why would Nekota, being a fan of an online game about tanks, only now come out and seek to join the Sensha-do team? She could be extremely shy or any number of things but nothing was established to address it and that lead to the biggest feeling of being rushed for me.

Regarding Mako’s grandmother and Hana’s mother, I personally thought it flowed well enough. Because Mako’s grandmother’s injury turned out to be a non-issue, there was no real conflict to resolve. While I would grant that a minute of dialog would have added value, I do not think the lack of dialogue actually detracts value either. I similarly found no issue with Hana’s mother acceptance. For me, the feeling I took away from that scene was that Hana’s mother did think there is “some value in sensha-do afterall”. Especially, since it allowed Hana to explore her own style of flower arrangement, something apparently Hana was unable to do beforehand. Again, would more time to develop the reconciliation between Hana and her mother been welcomed? Emphatically yes! But all in all, what was done worked for me nonetheless.

Bah…I wish there was a way to edit one’s own comments. I realize I wrote “12 cour” as opposed to 1 cour. Although, I certainly wouldn’t complain about a lengthy run like some of the mainstream shonen anime’s currently on.

Just to be clear, I was being sarcastic about the Type 10 and M1A2 Abrams. My point was that given the 2.5:1 numerical odds AND high caliber Black Forest’s tanks, IMO Oarai needed a “cheat” to have any realistic chance of winning. Maho is not going to underestimate Miho or leave 1/2 her tanks behind as a gesture of “fair play.” Without those, Oarai would have lost to a much less formidable Saunders and Pravda teams.

I agree with you regarding the 12 episode limit. Frankly, just another three or four minutes spent flushing out some of the scenes would have eliminated my criticism. I wonder just how good the show could be with one more episode (13 total). Plenty of time to introduce the new teams, resolve personal issues, etc. I also agree that the show has done a remarkable job of not only balancing character development with action, but also using time wisely. In fact, its because that’s been the case that small flaws in this EP seem so noticeable.

You make a very good point about Nekoto’s team. I’m curious as to whether that team will be in Season 2 (better be one) or have graduated. The fact that Nekoto & Co are already eliminated makes me think the sole purpose of that team was to give a shout-out to WoT players, and maybe provide a “credible” reason for another Oarai miraculous escape.

RE. Mako’s grandmother/Hana’s mom: I understand what you’re saying, and I think we agree that the scenes were OK, but could have been better with more time alloted as was done with similar scenes in previous episodes.

I agree that the series hasn’t spent a lot of time with in-depth character development, and that the introductions to the newer teams were pretty rushed and somewhat convenient (Hey, we need a new tank to make this plausible, who can we get to crew it?). But I also take into consideration that the series has moved the story along at a super-fast clip the whole time. It’s not like they wasted a lot of time with scenery shots or redundant closeups, or anything else that really could be considered a ‘waste of time’ that could have been moved around to provide more development for the new crews. So it’s really a case of trying to cram 10 pounds of sugar in a 5 pound bag: there was so much material they wanted to get to and get through, and they knew they’d really only have 12 episodes, so they had to move it along really fast.

But overall, I think just about everyone would rather have a series that left a little bit on the table, that you want more of, than a series that overstays its welcome or wastes a lot of time. And we can always hope for future productions!

The sense of calm before the finals was astounding , watching those scenes definitely got me into a very calm mood. When an anime can bring you in such a state , then the people behind it have done a good job.

As agonizing as a 3 month wait will be for eps 11 and 12 , I will wait and cherish the moments .
And when March comes , I will greet the Girls from Ooarai, like an old friend and relive the awesomeness that is GuP.

Arrrrgghhhh it’s too long to wait!!! Well at least I’ll have something to look forward to next season.

A good episode overall though I found the resolution to the Pravda match a bit anticlimactic. Of course this was dur to time constraints more than anything else.

Not much to say about the actual show except we get the HETZER!! Before the 38(t)’s superb performance last ep a lot of people were saying they should “upgrade” the 38 to a Hetzer. Well now they have, Happy now? Also I laughed a bit when they found the Chu-Ni in the same place the Real Life example is displayed.

The breakdowns of the Tiger P was a bit of a laugh and it’s nice to see the unsung heroes of the automotive club getting some screen time. Also the Chu-Ni getting taken out right away in an offensive move not unlike the surprise attacks from the Ardennes in 1940 and 1944.

I can’t believe I missed the exploding tank flowers. Also it was nice to see all the teams enjoing one more peacefull night together before the big day.

Speaking of I’m not surprised to see all the teams(except Anzio) showing their respect for Miho, it shows the contrast between the two opposing teams, basically nobody is cheering for BFT.

Speaking of showing respect it’s nice to see a member of the tank crew that Miho saved came to thank her. It also shows how abruptly Miho left the BFT. Also I feel bad that I never thought about how the team Miho saved felt when they learned that the reason they lost the match was becasue Miho went to save them. We never really talked about the guilt they would feel (Even though falling into the river wasn’t their fault and the team was gonna loose regardless but Miho’s been made the scapegoat).

The tactics used by the BFT shows how much Maho respects her little sister and know how good she is. Maho isn’t going to make the same mistake Pravda made, she’s going to try to take them out as soon as possible already taking out one of Ooarai’s tanks. Likewise Miho’s tactic is also sound and necessary for the extremely lopsided, her prediction of Maho’s tactics shows when she predicted they would try to attack right away. It highlights the two commanders well. Miha knows their tactics and way of thinking through the ridged Nishizumi Style, whereas Maho shows just how high caliber she is by surprising Miho with that Ardennes ambush.

The problem Maho has is that she is stuck in an inflexible tactical doctrine that will fall aprart as the battle drags on.

Sun Tzu says: “When you do battle, even if you are winning, if you continue for a long time it will dull your forces and blunt your edge. [etc]

This plays into the hands of Miho’s strategy which is using guerilla tactics and taking shots of oportunity when they have the advantage since she knows their tactical doctrine and isn’t bound by to a rigid style like Maho is. Maho knows this and that’s why she needs to end this match ASAP.

Sun Tus says this: “Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mystirious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of your opponents fate.”

Okay onto the meta world now. episodes 11 and 12 are delayed until march and the animation bugs and the like present in this episode will be fixed in the blu-rays according to the director who has also stated that episode 12 is not the end of the whole story.

Agree with you up until Likewise Miho’s tactic is also sound and necessary for the extremely lopsided, her prediction of Maho’s tactics shows when she predicted they would try to attack right away.

Miho may have predicted Maho would be aggressive from the start (who wouldn’t with that numerical advantage), but she was surprised by the trap and fell into it nonetheless. I still can’t understand why she stopped doing initial recon after the St. Gloriana match.

The problem Maho has is that she is stuck in an inflexible tactical doctrine that will fall aprart as the battle drags on. This plays into the hands of Miho’s strategy which is using guerilla tactics and taking shots of opportunity when they have the advantage since she knows their tactical doctrine and isn’t bound by to a rigid style like Maho is. Maho knows this and that’s why she needs to end this match ASAP.

I still have trouble understanding this viewpoint. BFT won 9/10 championships (and in theory “only lost because of Miho” last year). Pravdo showed well that even a mechanical/technological advantage can be offset by poor strategy. If the style is so bad, how does BF along with all the other teams that use it win? Even Oarai’s “instructor” (what an easy job) spoke well of the Nishizumi Style. Isn’t the fact Maho set an “Ardennes ambush” rather than simply charge about proof that there flexibility is “permitted” by the Nishizumi Style? Isn’t an ambush attack mostly associated with guerrilla tactics? Sun Tzu aside, it’s Miho NOT Maho that that needs to win fast. Maho has every advantage in a battle of attrition. Well, except maybe fuel consumption.

IMO, it’s not the strategic or tactical aspect of the Nishizumi Style that’s inherently defective (it’s NOT perfect either). It is the unrelenting focus on winning and the the “steel heart” rather than a proper focus on being true teammates, comradery, and God forbid, having FUN which is the problem. Sensahdo isn’t war; it’s a sport. That along with the latter elements are a central theme of the show while battle strategy and tactics, though fun to discuss, are not.

I am in very much agreement with your sentiments. In some of the past discussion regarding Miho’s ability compared to Maho’s, I was very confused by the comments regarding Maho’s inflexibility with tactics. Unless I missed something, until this very episode the anime has not given us any examples of Maho’s command in action. I think you’re right to point out that the inflexibility stems from the doctrine of the Nishizumi-Ryu of winning at all costs.

I found that BFP’s ambush on Ooarai shows credibility to Maho’s command ability. She did something that Miho did not expect. To take her forces through the forest.

It was nice to actually have Maho come out and directly acknowledge Miho’s ability given the past discussion of how the show was alluding to it. What Maho said was almost as if the show’s creators had read some of the comments here regarding Miho’s ability as tank commander. It was really spot on.

While it’s great that Miho’s sister does not look down on her (at least in terms of ability), it is unfortunate that has lead to Maho choosing to field the full 20(!) tanks for the finals. It certainly seems like Maho is not taking any chances on underestimating Miho and her ragtag group of tanks. But still…20 versus 8? Well seven now that the Chi-Nu was taken out. I know that I was one of those in agreement with Moomba regarding whether or not Ooarai should lose in the final. But against such odds…well it only makes it seem more likely. However, I really want to see Miho use brilliantly unorthodox superior tactics to make BFP pay in spades. And if Ooarai does win, well Miho better receive MVP for the tournament…actually she should receive it regardless.

At any rate, I think we’re all in for quite the epic battle. I was surprised as some that they actually started the finals in this episode. Hopefully, that means that they wanted to cram as much tank (porn =P) action as possible in the last two episodes.

The comedic highlight of this episode for me was definitely the reveal of the Tiger (P), Yukari’s praise then list of issues, and subsequently having each of those issues occur as she lists them. LMAO! Of course, it makes so much sense to have the automobile club assigned to the Tiger (P) =).

The eve before battle sequence with each of the teams was nicely done. It really shows the bonds these girls have with each other and how they’ve all grown since restarting Ooarai’s Sensha-do. The volleyball girls really got to me though for some reason. I think it has to do with their love for the sport and dedication to its revival. Because the VB girls are so awesome, I’m totally rooting for their success (assuming Ooarai remains open at the end of it all =P) but at the same time, they do so well in Sensha-do I hope that if their dream come true for the volleyball club that they don’t walk away (or have to walk away) from Sensha-do.

OK so I may have my yuri goggles on way too tight, but didn’t anyone else get the vibe that Miho wanted to say straight out that she simply prefers girls instead of saying how she loves them all (which is still yurilicious!)? And I loved Yukari’s reaction to it.

Yukari and Miho’s interaction throughout the show has been such a delight to watch. This was especially true of the scene near the end of the episode when Yukari was asking if Miho felt validated in her decision to save her teammates. I liked that it seems that Miho has pretty much fully accepted the resulting path that decision has taken her.

Gah…this may have been a much less intense episode than last, but there were still so many great scenes I could go on for a while. At that, now comes the long wait for the last two episodes. On the bright side, January is just around the corner ^^;

over 100 comments…
ok, so first things first, single but MAJOR quibble I have with this epiosode:
there is NO FRIGGIN WAY any of Ooarai tanks, especially type 89, could have survived direct 122mm hit. PERIOD. Heck, even a near miss could overturn it by the sheer blast, just like the 38t ended up…
Having that out of the way, we are treated to some nice sportsmanship courtesy of Katyusha, and followed later by some nice wishes from other defeated teams on the day of finals.
Final preparations are made, and converting 38t to Hetzer is great move!
2 more teams emerge, with nerds crewing Chi-nu, and mechanics being the only able to operate Tiger-P (“rare panzer!” – god bless your tank fanaticism, Yukari-chan!), and even then it is prone to catching fire…
Having to watch girls spend their evening before finals was a treat, especially epic cameo of Kelly’s Heroes – an epic cameo, if I’d have to rate! Yukari is highlighted via my Yuri goggles, too…
Finally the battle begins and were treated to the display of Black Forest firepower and tactics immediately. This was probably first team that has knocked out Ooarai tank in the first few minutes of a fight!

TRACK record? that is about worst pun I have heard in a quite long time… I thought Only I specialize in it.
I can forgive 5,5 and 10,5 simply because 1.they add depth to the cast 2. the show itself is so high quality in design and research that I understand that they eed more time to polish it.

I was just curious, can anyone tell me what movies were te freshmen ( M3 Lee crew ) watching besides “kelly’s Herose”. I think the first on top is Battle of the Bulge but i would really like to know what’s the other 3 DVD’s. Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer my question.

Been watching this since the beginning and as an anime and WWII fan am pleased with the results. The one thing that bugs me with this show though is how unrealistic the actual fighting is; there’s no way that a bunch of outgunned, outnumbered novices should be able to win every time. Still, the action, characters, and humor are satisfying enough to make me overlook this and simply sit back and enjoy the ride. Another thing I found very refreshing about this series is that it’s not given to excessive fanservice. I wasn’t expecting much from this show at the beginning, but have been pleasantly surprised. Very sad that the last episodes aren’t coming out until next year though. Thanks for covering this Moomba!

I kinda dislike those moments where she gets all tingly/”wuschig”…
Besides being Ooarai’s Military Intelligence all by herself, there are more awesome moments where you notice how much she cares about her friends without it being too clichéd.

I didn’t realize Saori was that popular. Big surprise for me. She’s not very high on my list. I don’t have Momo that high either. Nice to see Darjeeling and Kei near the top, but poor Nonna.

Wonder where the Auto-Club and “Anteater (or whatever it is) team members will rank. I really wish there was an extra 3 min or so for some background on the the Auto-club this EP. At least a couple of members seem to have interesting personalities.

When looking at that list, it’s amazing to me just how many characters there are – with 7 more to be added for the last two teams. We don’t know much about many of them, but fact we know a little about almost all shows just how well the director & staff have done balancing various aspects of the show in the limited time they have.

The only thing I dont like about this series is that they rushed it too much, therefore making it too short
They didnt show us the other matches, these were the participants:
———————————————————————-
Viking Marine High School (Sweden)
Koala Forest Academy (Australia)
Pravda High School (USSR)
Bonpuru High School (???)
Maginot Girl’s School (France)
Anzio High School (Italy)
Saunders University High School Division (US)
Oarai Girl’s School (Multi-National)
BC Free Academy (Free France)
St. Gloriana Girl’s School (UK)
Yogurt Academy (Bulgaria)
Waffle Academy (Belgium)
Kuromori Girl’s School (Germany)
Chihatan Academy (Japan)
Blue Division High School (Spain)
Continuation High School (Finland)
Yet we only saw Pravda, Saunders, Oarai and Gloriana, too bad, I wanted to see the Kuromori and Blue Division combats

Impossible with 12 episodes or even 13. They are already stretched thin for time as it is. Of course I’d love to see more matches, more character development, more everything LOL.

Showing part of all the matches could be done but you would need 24 eps. Not possible given that this is original material. There were already enough doubts prior to the season with a 12 ep. commitment. Had it been a popluar LN like Fate/Zero or SAO, then 24 eps would have been possible. Still, 24 eps would be awesome – first 12 deal with story background, characters, training with a 2-3 scrimmage matches. Eps. 13-24 are all on the tournament. Plenty of time for everything.

Lets just hope they dont go the predictable way and make Show Spoiler ▼

Ooarai win the tournament, because that will be totally absurd, because there is no way in hell the protagonists can win the finals with such relatively weak and light tanks as a Panzer 38(t), a Type 89b, a StuG III-F, a M3 Lee, a Renault B1 Bis and a Type 3 Chi-Nu against monstrous heavies such as a PanzerJager, a Panther, a JagdPanther, a Tiger I, a Tiger II and a JagdTiger, for Pete´s sake, because it will be like New Zealand reaching for the first time the FIFA FootBall World Cup Finals and defeating Brazil 5-0.

I’m wondering if there’s an error before the match versus Black Forest starts. When Darjeeling, Kay, and Katyusha wished Miho their good lucks the Ooarai team is wearing their combat uniform. When they exchange bows before Black Forest they were wearing their regular uniforms. Then after a while they are back in their combat uniform.